...Virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone that renders us invincible. These are the tactics we should study. If we lose these, we are conquered, fallen indeed...
Patrick Henry (1736-1799) US Founding Father

Of course this is from AP and they inadvertently put the lie to Leahy's words.

Sen. Leahy proposes truth panel on Bush era abusesThe chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is proposing a "truth commission" to investigate abuses of detainees, politically inspired moves at the Justice Department, and whole range of decisions made during the Bush administration.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said the primary goal of the commission would be to learn the truth rather than prosecute former officials, but said the inquiry should reach far beyond misdeeds at the Justice Department under Bush to include matters of Iraq prewar intelligence and the Defense Department.

Leahy outlined his suggestion for a "truth and reconciliation" commission during a speech at Georgetown University Monday.

"I'm doing this not to humiliate people or punish people but to get the truth out," he said.I think it would be a great idea if we, the people, had a "truth and reconciliation" commission to investigate Congress and its corruption, its lies, its collusion and its abuses. Maybe we could start with all the Democrats that voted for the Iraq War, listing WMDs as a main reason to go in, but now have ads up, have put in print and publicly say that even though they saw the same intelligence that Bush lied.

Then there are so many more issues like the abuse of appliances by members like Freezer Jefferson or the activities in love pads all over DC like the White House and anyplace Barney Frank has lived.

This is not to humiliate people or to punish them but to get the truth out. Of course some like to be punished and other aren't capable of being humiliated.

Feeling the need to prove government is the only answer to our problems, Obama and team went to the citizenry. Unfortunately, not knowing how government works, they forgot to tell the people who make the bloated, fat and ineffective government possible.

Tony Crescenzi of Miller Tabak said Geithner spoke to the wrong street: Main Street instead of Wall Street.

"The problem is that Geithner needed to speak more to Wall Street, where the problems lie, rather than stay at a distance as he did, and leave Wall Street with too few details with no roadmap by how it might find its way out of current difficulties," Crescenzi wrote in a note to clients.

The "Financial Stability Plan," as it's now called, consists of four main components:1) It will set up a public-private fund to mop up to $500 billion of spoiled bank assets.2) It will set up a consumer-lending facility to support up to $1 trillion in new lending.3) It will devote up to $50 billion to help stem home foreclosures.4) It will provide new funding to banks after a "stress test" to determine if the bank is healthy.

Some market watchers remain skeptical over the benefits of the plan and legendary investor Jim Rogers told CNBC it could even make things worse. The bailout will plunge the US further into debt and it is designed by the same people who failed to forecast the crisis in the first place, Rogers said.

I think I will now use the Obama model and borrow tons of money to pay back money that I have already borrowed and to complete the financial fiasco, I will tick off my boss so that I will get fired. That just about sums up what the Rookies from ChiTown have accomplished so far.

The vote was 61-36, one more than the 60 needed to advance the measure toward Senate passage on Tuesday. That in turn, will set the stage for possibly contentious negotiations with the House on a final compromise on legislation the president says is desperately needed to tackle the worst economic crisis in more than a generation.

The Senate vote occurred as the Obama administration moved ahead on another key component of its economic recovery plan. Officials said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner would outline rules on Tuesday for $350 billion in bailout funds designed to help the financial industry as well as homeowners facing foreclosure.

Monday's vote was close but scarcely in doubt once the White House and Democratic leaders agreed to trim about $100 billion on Friday.

As a result, Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania broke ranks to cast their votes to advance the bill.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., battling a brain tumor, made his first appearance in the Capitol since suffering a seizure on Inauguration Day, and he joined all other Democrats in support of the measure.

"There is no reason we can't do this by the end of the week," said Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. He said he was prepared to hold the Senate in session into the Presidents Day weekend if necessary, and cautioned Republicans not to try and delay final progress.

He said passage would mark "the first step on the long road to recovery."

Moments before the vote, the Congressional Budget Office issued a new estimate that put the cost at $838 billion, an increase from the $827 billion figure from last week. Ironically, the agency said provisions in the bill intended to limit bonuses to executives at firms receiving federal bailout money would result in lower tax revenues for the government.

In this, the first major test of Republican will, these three rolled over like little puppies anxious to please, but it is worrisome to wonder who they were really pleasing.

How much will these three, and others if they feel there is no personal price to pay, cost our party and our nation over the next 4 years?

Paula Nowakowski

Loaded Web

To enhance freedom, spread freedom.

Tech Staff

The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it. - P. J. O'Rourke

"What an irony that a society confronted with plastic bags filled with the remains of aborted babies should be more concerned about the problem of recycling the plastic"... - Winifred Egan